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I am home from my fabulous 2 - week vacation (who said I don't take vacations?) and had an absolute blast!

We started in Colorado, as you may remember from my last blog. The sights and sounds of the west have always been near and dear to my heart, and going out there was like a homecoming for me!

Me at the Spanish Peaks in Colorado

There's no way that the pictures can
possibly capture the beauty of the land out there. You have to have the smells and the warm breezes, the birds and other creatures milling around to get a full taste of the areas we visited. It was just gorgeous. We hope to return in June and I can't wait! I had a major break through in Colorado with the sequel to The Legend of Ghostkiller. It blew me away how the spirits took over my writing (you'd think I'd be used to that by now) and guided the meat of the plot some place I would have never thought of going. Amazing! Scattered Leaves: Beyond the Legend will be released in October 2012, if all goes well.

"The Pit" in Albuquerque, NM.

Our next stop was Albuquerque, my old stomping grounds. We went to
Gathering of Nations powwow and what an event that was! We've never seen
so many Indians in one place! It was just incredible! I will have a
booth there next year, and will be selling BOTH books there.

The dancers were there in incredible numbers and we had so much fun just hanging out. It was weird not being involved somehow, as we are both singers and knew most of the songs LOL We got massages, frybread and met all kinds of people.

Gathering of Nations 2012

One of those being, David Behrens, the artist who painted the Founding Fathers painting on my book cover. What an incredible and gracious soul he is. We agreed to meet at his shop the next day. Next, we ventured out to the stage area where we heard a band playing that was just rockin' like crazy. I didn't catch their name, but they were really grinding those guitars and were just giving it all they had. I've never seen Indians rock so hard in my life! What a trip!

Matt and me on top of Sandia Peak, Albuquerque, NM.

Next morning, we traveled to the top of Sandia Peak. What a view! I am afraid of heights, but it was a thrill being up there! My husband, who is always ready for an adventure, took an old dirt road on the way back down the mountain where we met some Indians near a stream. They invited us to their ceremony on the San Felipe rez.. There are no pics for that trip, as photos are not allowed. I wouldn't have taken any anyway, as picture taking during ceremony is not something we as Dakota practice anyway.

David Behrens

We made our way to David's shop, Painted Sky Gallery and Gifts,
in Old Town. His eyes really lit up when he saw this new cover. It is pretty awesome!
The visit was incredible and to top it all off, he showed me a painting of the Trail of Tears, the subject of the sequel. He agreed to let me use it for the book cover and also, shared another vision of a new painting, as yet to be painted, that will work for the third and final book in the Ghostkiller Trilogy. He also mentioned selling the books in his store! This is something we had discussed in the past, but actually meeting him and discussing it was much better than a phone call. I also think that seeing the book was the clincher. It really is a beautiful book!

Me with Wes Trudell, this is his "stoic look" he said haha

We met up with Wes Trudell, an actor friend who has been one of my cheerleaders since 2007. Wes, Adam Gonzalez, David Behrens and Billy Mallery have all been some of my greatest supporters in the book and movie endeavor since Day One, way back in 2006/2007 when I first began this journey of book publishing and film. Wes was a delight and Matt and I both enjoyed spending time with him. We swapped stories about the ups and downs in the movie business and just had a great visit. He is working on the set of the Lone Ranger with Johnny Depp right now. We weren't able to go to the set, but he is giving Johnny a book for me. I'd love to see Johnny play Mason Crow Walker! We'll see!

On our last day there, we went horseback riding with Adam Gonzalez in the mountains, and THAT was a blast! As I said, Adam is one of my biggest supporters and it was a treat to meet him in person.

He has the greatest personality and is such a people person. Matt had a ball riding a horse that William Shatner rode last year named Cadillac LOL! I was on Pistol Pete, who is also a people person! LOL!

The mountains are such an inspiration and Matt had never been west of the Rocky's before, so it was a special treat to experience that with him. We ate at a cool restaurant named Cowgirl, a hip joint with the best burgers I've ever had. All in all, we really enjoyed ourselves and I actually lost 4 lbs. while we were gone!

Well, that's all for now, friends. Look for updates about the sequel soon. Scattered Leaves: Beyond the Legend, and if you haven't already done so, sign up on the mailing list for more details about my trip and also movie news that will not be posted here.

I hope you enjoyed my travel blog LOL Til next time, I wish you love, peace and frybread grease!!